Lay Your Heart Out
by Music's Passion
Summary: A collection of one-shots and drabbles detailing the adventures and misadventures of two gems far from their Homeworld.
1. Home

_Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any of the characters. It all belongs to the amazing Rebecca Sugar._

* * *

 **Home**

The night blew in a peaceful wind. With it were leaves and the slight chill of autumn, bringing a fresh smell that Lapis could only describe as _Earth_.

It had only been a week or two since she had made her residence here at the barn. In that short time, she had established a sort of nightly routine, one she followed with a new found happiness. Every night, after the sun had set, she would venture near the silo and lay. She would feel the grass between her fingers. She would lift her head to the sky. She would close her eyes to the moonlight and bask in it.

Tonight though, she was not alone. Leaning against the silo next to her was Peridot. Much to Lapis' surprise, she was silent, doing nothing more than star gazing. She had to admit, having company was nice, especially quiet company.

"Hey, Lazuli."

Scratch that. Peridot could never stay silent for long.

Lapis sighed. "Yes?"

Without taking her eyes off of the sky, Peridot slid down the silo until she was sitting, her legs underneath her. "Look, a little to the left. There's Homeworld's galaxy."

Lapis lifted her eyes to where the green gem was looking. With widening eyes, she realized she _could_ see it. It was there, twinkling in the night air, beckoning her closer. She could taste the air on the tip of her tongue, like a long forgotten dream waiting to be discovered once more.

She resisted the urge to reach her arm out. "So you can."

"Do you miss it?" Peridot asked, her voice soft.

Lapis shifted slightly in her position on the ground. The grass tickled her back where she was laying, brushing against her gem. "Do you?"

"Yes."

Her answer was immediate. Lapis looked at her face, really looked.

 _You should have at least gotten to know her before you decided you didn't like her!_

The look of longing on Peridot's face made something twinge inside of Lapis. She recognized that look. She recognized the feeling.

"We can't ever go back."

Peridot scoffed at Lapis' words. Or it might have been a snicker. Lapis couldn't tell.

"I know. I'm a traitor, you're a refugee, Yellow Diamond is a…clod." She made a choking noise that Lapis supposed was a laugh at the word clod, as if calling her former superior that was still an act of irredeemable treachery.

"I still don't get that word." Lapis crinkled her nose. Her companion only rolled her eyes.

A moment of quiet passed between them as another breeze blew in. Lapis inhaled deeply, holding the new air.

"I do miss it."

Peridot turned around, alarmed. "You-you do?"

Lapis closed her eyes. "Of course, but I miss it…differently than you do."

Even though she couldn't see it, Lapis could hear Peridot's questioning eyebrow raise in her tone of voice. "What do you mean?"

Her fists clenched a bit over her stomach, but she refused to open her eyes. "Homeworld, now, is so different than what it used to be when I was around. The technology, the gems themselves, it's all so…strange, different." Her voice broke slightly. "I lost my home before I even realized it."

Lapis expected to hear Peridot try to console her, rambling about how this could be their new home. However, she was slowly starting to realize that Peridot never quite followed what she thought.

"I…know the feeling."

Lapis opened her eyes and turned her head to Peridot, encouraging her to continue. Peridot turned her gaze from the stars to Lapis, then down to the ground, slightly uncomfortable under the blue gem's stare.

"I contacted Yellow Diamond, before we finished the drill. I thought, maybe if I talked to her, she might understand, and I might get to go home. But when I talked to her, when she wouldn't listen to the "puny thoughts of a Peridot"…" Her voice became softer than Lapis had ever heard it go. "I realized that the home I thought I had, was never really mine in the first place."

A pause. "I guess you were right."

Peridot finally looked at Lapis again. Her eyes looked dangerously wet. "About what?"

"We're more similar than I thought."

Peridot smiled, and she felt her face drift into a light smile too. The wind blew again, bringing with it red and brown leaves that swirled in the air around them. Without another word, they both turned to look at the sky again.

It was a few moments before Lapis started snickering. She could feel Peridot's questioning gaze.

"The liar and the traitor, sitting together as rebels on a lost gem colony. Did you ever think you would be here?"

"Nope." She popped her mouth on the p. "Never thought you'd be talking to me this much either."

"Careful, Peridot. Bitterness is my thing."

They both laughed at that.

After they quieted, Peridot sobered a bit, leaning her head back against the silo. "Hey, Lazuli. Can I ask you a serious question?"

"You'll ask anyway, so go for it."

"We're really far from Homeworld, aren't we?"

Lapis turned toward the galaxy in question, staring for the longest time. She thought she detected a second meaning to her words. "I suppose."

"Do you think that's a bad thing?"

Lapis looked once more to Peridot. She could see the galaxy in her eyes, shining with a greenish tint. She thought for a moment. About the chaos of Homeworld, the changing leaves of Earth, the shining city Steven had shown her, the stars reflected in Peridot's visor.

There was freedom here that Steven had shown her. The freedom of change and renewal. Of new beginnings and comfort.

"No, I don't think it is."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hello all! It feels good to be back! This is something I've been toying around with for awhile. I wanted to write at least a little something for Steven Universe, so I thought some one-shots would be nice and fun. I hope to continue writing entries for this, and I hope to stay as in character as I can. I wrote this chapter while listening to Home by Lisa Hannigan. In fact, I even got inspiration for the title from it. I would give it a listen, it really is amazing. Oh, and before I forget, I hope to be posting something else soon Steven Universe related, so be on the look out for that! Until then...**_

 _ **Music's Passion logging out!**_


	2. Melody in the Making

_Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any of the characters. It all belongs to the amazing Rebecca Sugar._

* * *

 **Melody in the Making**

It wasn't like Lapis was _trying_ to spy on her. She was just in Lapis' line of sight where she was sitting. Well, crouching would have been a more accurate term. Behind a few hay bales. Where Peridot couldn't see her.

She sighed. Yeah, she was spying.

With a small frown, Lapis reminded herself why she was doing such a crime. Peridot had been hiding something from her. Of course, she was entitled to her own privacy, but her behavior had become increasingly…odd to say the least. When Lapis had asked her if she wanted to go stargazing again last week, Peridot had spluttered something about being busy. It wouldn't have bothered Lapis, except Peridot had been busy every night. The part that really got on her nerves was that Peridot refused to tell her what she was doing.

Lapis clenched her fists with aggravation. Didn't Peridot trust her? Didn't she want to be friends?

With a sudden realization, Lapis unclenched her fists and sat against a hay bale. Who was she to judge Peridot on her reclusiveness? She herself didn't fully trust Peridot. They may be "barnmates", as Steven put it, but they still had a mountain of issues to talk through if they were going to progress their relationship any further.

Lapis sighed, closing her eyes. She should leave and let Peridot tend to whatever she did at night. She moved to stand, when all of a sudden she heard someone clearing their voice. She immediately shot down, hoping she had been fast enough not to be spotted. Peeking over the hay bale, she spotted Peridot plopping down on the barn floor, pieces of paper and a pencil dropping next to her.

Curiosity got the better of her. Lapis stayed in her position. Faintly, she could hear a noise. She strained her ears, hoping to get a better idea of what was making the sound.

"Do re mi fa sol la ti do!"

Was…Was Peridot singing?

Lapis could hear her repeating those strange words over and over. Confusion swept through her. Why did she keep _singing_ a secret?

After a few moments, Peridot cleared her throat again. She grabbed a pencil and tapped her cheek, a thoughtful expression on her face. Her lips were pursed in concentration, and one of her eyebrows was raised, as if threatening the paper to make a move. She looked sort of cute, Lapis thought with a soft blush.

Several minutes passed before Peridot even wrote anything, and even then she only scribbled a few lines.

"Hmmm, this won't do." She said before erasing her work. Lapis noticed the paper already appeared worn, as if it had seen more of the eraser than the pencil lead. Her curiosity grew.

Peridot hummed a slow melody, almost too low for Lapis to hear. Her voice continued to grow until she started murmuring words, ones Lapis couldn't catch. She leaned a little over the hay bale, hoping to make out what she was saying. She supported her weight with her one arm, straining over her cover…

Until she leaned too far and fell on her face, right in front of Peridot.

She heard Peridot scream in terror, scampering to the other side of the barn. She brought her head up, using her arms to hoist her upper body into an upright position. She caught Peridot's eye from the other side where she was hiding behind the discarded baseball clothing.

"Hey, Peridot." She nodded meekly.

"Lazuli!?" Peridot screeched. "Wha-What are you doing here!?"

"Umm…" Lapis pushed herself up and stood. She could feel some heat in her cheeks. "What are _you_ doing here?"

This seemed to throw Peridot. She scrambled to get up from her hiding spot, only to trip over the box. "M-me!? What am-what am I doing here?" She laughed halfheartedly.

"Well?" Lapis prompted, crossing her arms.

"Well, I…I was just." Her face scrunched up. "Hey, wait a minute! I asked you first!"

Lapis frowned. "I was just curious as to where you disappeared to during the night. So I, uh, decided to, umm…"

"Spy on me?"

"…Yeah."

Peridot threw her arms up. "Ugh! Great, this is great. Guess you ruined the surprise now!"

Lapis' eyes widened in shock. Her arms dropped to her sides limply. "What?"

It was Peridot's turn to cross her arms, an angry look on her face. "Yeah. You heard me."

She rolled her eyes, getting slightly mad at Peridot's reaction. "Look, I still don't know what this 'surprise' is, so it isn't all ruined, okay?"

Peridot grumbled, then sighed, walking up to Lapis. She looked right in her eyes. It threw her for a second. She noticed the green tint in her visor. Her eyes were an indecipherable color because of it. She couldn't tell if they were blue, green, or a mix in between. She internally berated herself. She was having an argument with her, not a staring contest.

"Here's the thing Lazuli, and I won't say this again so you better listen." Peridot's courage seemed to waver. Her eyes averted to the ground, and her frustrated stance relaxed slightly.

"I know my…previous gifts did not exactly live up to your standards, so I took it upon myself, now that we're friends," She glanced up at Lapis, as if to see if she had any issue with the statement, "to get you an acceptable present."

Lapis shook her head. "Peridot, you don't need to do this."

"I know, but I want to." Peridot had a blush dusting her cheeks. "Before I became a Crystal Gem, Steven showed me this thing called music. It's pretty simple." She was smirking now, but quickly composed herself. "He told me I should write something, write a song. I did, and it was actually…" She paused briefly. "It was actually very freeing."

She gazed into Lapis' eyes once more, and she could only see sincerity in them. "I wanted to show you that freedom, so I started writing another song. For you."

"For me?" Lapis asked softly.

"For you!" Peridot replied happily, apparently pleased with her reaction.

She had wanted to give her something freeing. To say Lapis was touched would be an understatement. After being trapped for so long, it was the one thing she craved.

"Could I hear it?"

"Uhhhh." Peridot scratched her cheek, embarrassed. "I haven't gotten very far with it yet."

"Then show me what you have."

Peridot gave her a questioning look before sighing. "If you insist. Here, sit down, I'll…sing you what I have."

Lapis sat on the wooden floor, tucking her legs into her as Peridot took a deep breath and began to sing.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hey everyone! Here again with another story for you all. I hope you all enjoy. I just want to thank everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story! You guys are so awesome! Thank you so much! Well, I'll see you all in the next installment. Until then...**_

 _ **Music's Passion logging out!**_


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